Shenny at the Movies: Groundhog Day
by JLynnB
Summary: One of these days, Sheldon is going to get it right.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I was cleaning out my hd when I came across this one. It's undergone a revamp and it's not complete (and I don't know when I'll get around to it since I'm not supposed to be doing this anymore [take the hint, Lynn!]), but here's the start. As it is a movie cover, I thought to add it to the 'Shenny At The Movies' challenge. *Lynn

Of course I don't own The Big Bang Theory. I just like playing in their world.

XXX

Sheldon woke up and looked at his clock. It was flashing four thirty five.

"Good Lord," he breathed. Quickly he popped out of bed and threw on his housecoat before dashing into the living room. He hopped over the train tracks that lay to the left of the couch and grabbed the remote. Turning on the tv he switched to BBC America—Doctor Who had just started. "Drat." Granted he'd only missed the opening credits which were the exact same every episode of the current season but it was the principle of the thing. Every action on Saturday morning was precise so as to have an optimal viewing experience. So things would be different this morning. It couldn't be so bad, right?

"I am the master of my own bladder." As he watched Sheldon unconsciously crossed his legs. After a few minutes and with lips pursed he began walking backwards to the washroom so he could keep viewing the show as long as possible before darting inside. His business conducted, he rushed back into the living room and sat in his spot.

A twitch crossed his face. He began to fidget. With a disgruntled sigh he got up and angled the television screen so it faced the kitchen counter. Again he walked backwards until he reached the refrigerator. With precision he gathered the bowl, spoon, cereal and milk and assembled his breakfast without looking. He didn't have to—habitual movements aside he had an eidetic memory. Once learned, he never forgot a fact or phrase or location. Granted, he might not grasp everything but with an IQ of one hundred and eighty seven that amount was minute as far as he was concerned. So what if he was virtually clueless about sarcasm and emotional exchanges? They had nothing to do with particle physics so were irrelevant.

Cereal in hand, he returned to his spot after moving the television back to its original position. Now settled, he sighed contentedly and watched his program.

Forty minutes later Leonard dragged himself into the kitchen towards the coffee maker. The pot was empty. He groaned.

"Damn power outage." He switched on the coffee maker and slumped into the easy chair to watch the ending of Doctor Who.

As the credits rolled Sheldon turned to his roommate.

"You do realize you've ruined your future viewing experience by watching the climax of the story," he tutted.

"Not true," Leonard countered. "In fact it gives me the opportunity to appreciate the minor details which are usually overwhelmed by the plot."

Sheldon snorted. "Plot is paramount, Leonard. Nuances are like sprinkles on a sugar cookie—oh sure they may look nice but are irrelevant when it comes to overall taste."

The door opened and Penny entered.

"Dear God tell me you've got coffee," she pleaded. She had gotten up to use the washroom and nearly had kittens when she saw her alarm clock flashing. Since she wanted the evening off to go with the guys to see the July Fourth fireworks she'd taken an early shift at the Cheesecake Factory.

"Coming up," Leonard smiled. He got up and went to the kitchen to prepare two cups.

Penny leaned against the counter. "Anyways, I'll be finished work at three so I'll meet you at Ostler Park at around five thirty."

Leonard handed her a cup. "So you're sure you don't want us to wait for you?"

"No. You've got the whole day to roam around and explore. Go on. Have fun." She took a sip of coffee and sighed.

"Yes, why be silly enough to stay within the vicinity of Pasadena to watch fireworks when we can travel two hours and view a virtually identical light show?" Sheldon said dourly.

"Aww, what's wrong with you, Moonpie?" Penny asked.

Sheldon scowled. "Don't call me Moonpie. Only Meemaw calls me that."

"Be nice. There's a rule about breaking Sheldon before noon," Leonard said with a smirk.

Penny smiled in return. "Now you know why I start my day at eleven."

Sheldon frowned at the whole exchange. This day was getting worse and worse. First he woke up late for Doctor Who and now he had to deal with Penny. Later he'd be subjected to a two hour car ride with Leonard, Howard and Raj to some ungodly destination just so they could watch fireworks. All of this seemed a gross waste of time. What he'd rather do was work on his Higgs boson problem.

A thought came to him and he brightened up. "Penny, what time are you leaving for the fireworks?"

She leaned her back against the counter. "I'm hoping around three thirtyish so we can have dinner and look around before the show starts."

"Perfect. I have some work I'd like to complete this afternoon and three thirty would be an acceptable departure time." Penny nearly spit out her coffee.

"You're coming with me?" she sputtered.

"Why not? It allows me to work on my project and gives you the added benefit of companionship on the drive." Sheldon gave a twitchy smile. Penny closed her eyes and drank deeply from her cup.

Leonard did his best to suppress his smile. "Well if you're sure that's what you want to do." A whole day without Sheldon. He couldn't believe his good fortune.

Penny sighed. "Counting the seconds, Sheldon."

Sheldon got up and headed towards the sink. "Did you know that the 'second' as an international unit of time is defined in terms of radiation emitted by caesium atoms?"

"Can't say I did."

"Well it's not surprising given your upbringing. I imagine time was something measured by the sowing and harvesting of crops, the crowing of a rooster and your menstrual cycle."

"Excuse me?" Penny gasped.

"While Pasadena lacks the crop rotation and the call of _Gallus gallus domesticus_ your menstrual cycle has been extremely punctual as can be seen on the apartment calendar." Sheldon paused as he rinsed out his bowl. "I suppose this has more to do with birth control medication than natural rhythm." Penny looked to Leonard in shock. "However, given your life choices birth control is a sound idea."

" _Life choices?_ "

Sheldon put the bowl and spoon into the drain rack. "Your penchant for picking up a multitude of strange men in bars for the purposes of coitus."

" _Goodbye_ Sheldon," Penny snapped as she made for the door.

"I'll expect you between three fifteen and three thirty," Sheldon managed to slip in before the door closed.

Leonard shook his head in disgust. "You're something else."

"What?" Sheldon asked, puzzled.

"First you ask her for a ride then you bring up her menses cycle and sexual practices." Leonard put down his mug and made for the bathroom.

"I was merely attempting to engage Penny in conversation. You said in the interest of social conformity I'm to make my requests sound less like demands," Sheldon replied. He really didn't see where Leonard was going with this.

"The only thing you're engaging is her temper," Leonard warned.

"Which according to the calendar shouldn't be volatile until the twenty second."

Leonard didn't dignify that with an answer and shut the bathroom door.

XxX

Sheldon leaned back in the seat and held his breath as Penny changed lanes to pass the sedan.

"'Resume breathing, Scotty.' 'Aye, aye, Captain,'" she chuckled. Sheldon pursed his lips but his wide eyes didn't leave the road until their vehicle returned to their lane.

"The driver's manual states passing left of a centerline is not permitted thirty meters from a viaduct, tunnel or in this case, bridge," he said in a shaky voice.

"How many feet is thirty meters?"

"Ninety eight point four three."

Penny's tongue plucked the side of her cheek. "Yeah, ok, I'd say we were within a hundred feet. Huh. Now I'll know for next time."

Sheldon was incredulous. "'Now you'll know?' What kind of driver training did you receive in Nebraska?"

"I drove a tractor and pickup truck before I was sixteen. I'm a good driver," Penny replied.

"That we haven't died in a ball of fire doesn't mean your driving skills are sound. Besides passing before a bridge you changed lanes without signaling, crowded another vehicle's bumper and continue to drive ten to fifteen miles over the speed limit," Sheldon cited.

Penny took a moment to glare at her passenger. "You want to walk, Sheldon?"

A twitch passed over his lips. "In case the question isn't rhetorical I'll answer 'no'."

"Then zip it."

The car was silent.

"Leonard and I play games in order to pass the time," Sheldon said in an enthusiastic tone. "We could revisit the periodic element game where you say an element and I try to say another using the last letter of your—"

"No thanks," Penny said.

Again the car was silent.

Sheldon cleared his throat. "Two atoms were walking across a road when one of them said, "I think I lost an electron!" "Really!" the other replied, "Are you sure?" "Yes, I 'm absolutely positive."" Silence. "An atom without an electron is electrically positive."

"Ah."

"Here's one in the spirit of our little expedition: Heisenberg went for a drive and got stopped by a traffic cop. The cop asked, "Do you know how fast you were going?" Heisenberg replied, "No, but I know where I am."" Sheldon laughed. He looked to Penny who was shaking her head with a smirk on her face.

"I'm surprised you know the Heisenberg uncertainty principle," he said.

"The what?"

"The Heisenberg— Good Lord, Penny, the joke. Why were you smiling if you didn't get it?"

Penny shrugged. "I was smiling at you. It's not often you laugh without sounding smug. It's nice."

Sheldon paused as a flush brushed his cheeks. "According to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, you cannot simultaneously know both your position and speed. Hence the driver couldn't know how fast he was going since he knew where he was."

"That's clever," Penny said with a grin.

"Indeed."

"Got any more?"

Sheldon glanced out the side window. "There's no point in telling jokes if you don't get them."

Silence in the car.

Miles passed before Sheldon turned to Penny. "Maybe we'll engage in frivolous chit-chat instead. So how was your day?"

Penny sighed. "Brutal. Lots of customers. Lots of demands. Little to show for it, tip-wise **.** God, I'll have to borrow rent money from Leonard again. I just can't seem to get ahead in my bills, y'know?"

Sheldon gave a smarmy smirk. "Well that's what you get for not pursuing post secondary education."

"Not everyone's a genius like you," Penny muttered.

"I'd have to lose IQ points to rank as a genius, but I agree with the sentiment."

She rolled her eyes. "And don't forget humble."

"I'm not bragging," Sheldon said earnestly. "My achievements are both merited and expected given my superior abilities."

"Well it sure sounds like bragging," Penny smirked. "Must be a tone thing."

"It might sound like bragging to you because you've never done anything of significance," Sheldon said with a shrug. "I imagine achievement in any form must seem a massive undertaking." Penny turned on the radio. "I don't like country music."

"I _know_."

Sheldon glanced at Penny before turning his head to look out the side window.

XxX

Sheldon frowned as the car began to slow down. The trip, complete with its country music serenade, was already long enough without stretching it further.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm not doing anything."

He looked out the window. "We're slowing down."

"I _know_ we're slowing down, ok?" At the sound of Penny's panicked voice Sheldon felt his heart rate increase. Quickly he looked for a clearing on the side of the road.

"You can pull off in about fourteen meters," he said.

Penny checked her mirrors and put on her hazard lights as she angled the car off the roadway. The car came to a stop and Penny put it into park. She looked at Sheldon and pressed the accelerator; the car sounded anything but healthy. Fearing to do any more damage she shut off the engine and sat back in her seat with a groan.

"Unbelievable."

"Hardly unbelievable. This is the direct result of you ignoring your 'check engine' light for months on end," he tutted.

"Yeah but why now?" she growled as she undid her seatbelt. Both occupants got out of the car.

"Why not now? It was only a matter of time before this occurred." He paused. "What is truly unfortunate is that I have to be here."

"Amen, brother." Sheldon scowled at her. "Ok now shush. I'm calling AAA."

Sheldon sighed as he pulled out his phone and texted Leonard the news. Waiting for a response, he thought back to the last interchange sign on the highway. As far as mileage they were just over half way to their destination so it seemed logical they'd be towed to the nearest service station as opposed to home.

Leonard texted back whether they wanted him to pick them up. Sheldon said no—they had to stick with the vehicle until they knew where it was going. Once he knew where it was they could make plans for Leonard to retrieve them.

"Crap on a cracker," Penny said as she hung up her phone. "We've got at least an hour and a half before a truck arrives."

Sheldon sighed. This day was just getting better and better.

XxX

"I thought we'd never get home," Penny sighed as Sheldon and she made it to their landing.

Sheldon dashed to his door and quickly entered his apartment. He hurried to his whiteboard and began scrawling out a formula. Leonard heard the door shut and came out of his bedroom.

"Glad you got back. How's the—"

Sheldon held out a finger to shush his roommate as he continued writing furiously. Once finished he stepped back and smirked as both he and Leonard read over the formula.

"That's brilliant," gushed Leonard.

"The headlights coming in the opposite direction got me thinking about how to better determine the mass of the Higgs boson. Since it has a number of indirect effects in the Standard Model using something like the Fermi constant to effect precision measurements of electroweak parameters should be able to constrain the mass of the Higgs."

Leonard slowly shook his head. "Amazing."

"Isn't it?" Sheldon said with a grin.

After grabbing a quick shower and changing into his pajamas Sheldon made himself a sandwich and watched the last half hour of Deep Space Nine before retiring to his room. He turned off the light and settled into his bed; his hands smoothening out the sheets before resting on his chest. While this had all the makings of being an absolutely dreadful day tonight's revelation more than made up for all his trouble. Sheldon sighed peacefully as he closed his eyes. He couldn't wait for tomorrow.

XxX

Sheldon woke up and looked at his clock. It was flashing four thirty five.

"Huh. Two days in a row at exactly the same time." His mind clicked into gear and calculated the odds as he got up and attended to his bathroom needs. Afterwards he prepared his cereal and sat in his spot to watch Star Trek on TiVo.

Forty minutes later Leonard dragged himself into the living room. He stopped in his tracks when he saw what was on the television.

"How come you're not watching Doctor Who?" he asked.

"Why would I?" Sheldon replied as he stared at the screen.

"Because it's Saturday and you've watched it every single Saturday for as long as I've known you," Leonard said as he went towards the coffee maker. The pot was empty. He groaned. "Damn power outage." He switched on the coffee maker and slumped into the easy chair to watch the ending of Star Trek.

"Last night's fireworks must have caused a seizure. If your confusion doesn't subside I'd consult a doctor. And no, I don't mean a Time Lord."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Whatever Sheldon." This was way too early for him to put up with one of Sheldon's tangents. "You don't want to watch Doctor Who, that's fine."

Sheldon pursed his lips as he grabbed the remote. "You're in sore need of a Pope Gregory the Thirteenth to correct your Lunar calendar. While the eleven minute error accumulated into roughly three days every four centuries yours seems to have spontaneously accelerated to—" He casually clicked over to BBC America and saw Doctor Who. It took him a moment to sort out what he was seeing. "This is the same episode as yesterday. I didn't know they repeated the same episode twice on the weekend."

Leonard regarded his roommate. "What are you talking about?"

Sheldon fidgeted in agitation. "This is the one where the Doctor encounters the Rutans near the end of their war with the Sontarans."

"Have you been reading the Doctor Who blogs again?"

"Of course not," Sheldon said indignantly. "You know I don't like spoilers. In this case my information doesn't constitute an unauthorized divulgence of detail because the episode has already aired."

"Oh yes. 'Yesterday'." Leonard rolled his eyes.

"Why do you seem so skeptical of the idea?"

"Probably because we were at work yesterday. You drove me nuts at lunch when you completely trashed my experiment. You continued to badger me all the way home, during which time we had to stop at Pottery Barn to exchange _your_ Star Wars towels and the Hobby Shop to pick up _your_ railroad crossing signs."

"I had to return the towels. I couldn't bear wiping my hands on Darth Vader and I refuse to dry my face on the accompanying Jar Jar Binks towel," pouted Sheldon.

"Why not reverse them?" Leonard stretched as he let out a yawn.

"The Jar Jar towel wouldn't wear evenly as all my attention would be on trying to rub out his picture. Besides, Vader doesn't like getting wet."

Leonard grinned. "And you'd get anagrammed all over your face. You know, Sith." Sheldon scowled in response as he got up to wash his cereal bowl.

"As for the crossing signs, they had to be purchased as soon as possible to prevent an accident in the living room. I'm sure the last thing you'd want is blood on your hands, Leonard."

"I still don't see why you couldn't have gotten the stuff on Sunday," Leonard yawned.

Sheldon rinsed his bowl and put it in the drain rack. "Because the Hobby Shop's closed today."

"Everything's closed today," corrected Leonard. "I said Sunday."

"Leonard—"

"Never mind. I forgot it's 'Sunday'."

The door opened and Penny entered.

"Dear God tell me you've got coffee," she pleaded.

"Coming up," smiled Leonard. He got up and went to the kitchen to prepare two cups.

"Not watching Doctor Who?" said Penny as she leaned against the counter.

"It's on Saturdays Penny," tutted Sheldon.

She started to say something but stopped. "Too early for crazy, Sheldon." She took the cup of coffee from Leonard. "Anyways, I'll be finished at three so I'll be there around five thirty."

"Another outing? Your manager is being reasonable letting you change shifts two days in a row," Sheldon said as he watched the tv.

Penny turned to Leonard. "What's he talking about? "

"Today's Sunday didn't you know" Leonard smirked. "So you're sure you don't want us to wait for you?"

"No. You've got the whole day to roam around and explore. Go on. Have fun." She took a sip of coffee and sighed. Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Aww, what's wrong with you, Moonpie?"

He scowled. "Don't call me Moonpie. Only Meemaw calls me that."

"Be nice. There's a rule about breaking Sheldon before noon," Leonard snorted.

Penny smiled in return. "Now you know why I start my day at eleven."

Sheldon frowned as his friends completed their exchange.

"Well isn't this strange. I seem to be experiencing a repeat occurrence. We had this conversation yesterday." He paused to think before turning to Penny. "Of course given your limited knowledge base and the number of times Leonard has engaged you in chit chat there's a possibility you've run out of something new to say and I can look forward to many more moments of repeated dialogue." Both Penny and Leonard gave him a dark look. "It was only a matter of time."

Sheldon got up and headed towards the sink. "As you recall from yesterday the caesium atom defines the 'second' as an international unit of time. This refers to the atom at a temperature of 0 K or absolute zero in layman's terms. As I doubt you're aware absolute zero implies no movement and therefore zero external radiation effects."

"Whatever, Sheldon," Penny replied before stopping short. "Wait a minute I didn't see you yesterday."

"Of course you did. We were off to see the fireworks only your alternator blew so we spent time at a garage before returning home." Penny looked to Leonard for help. "Well it's not surprising you lose track of days given your lifestyle. I imagine time is a rather vague reference in a near constant state of inebriation."

"Excuse me?"

"While you manage to hold down a job, albeit menial, your penchant for alcohol consumption as a means of recreation dangerously parallels the lifestyle of someone addicted to said alcohol." Sheldon paused as he rinsed his glass. "I suppose this has more to do with growing up in a farming community. Given the limited prospects for having a meaningful life, alcohol provides a comfort."

"Meaningful life?" Penny growled.

Sheldon put the glass in the drain rack. "Surely you can't be deluded enough to think the world revolves around your shifts at The Cheesecake Factory."

" _Goodbye_ Sheldon," Penny snapped as she made for the door.

Leonard shook his head in disgust after their neighbor left. "You're something else."

"What?" Sheldon asked.

"First you essentially call her stupid then you say her life's meaningless." Leonard put down his mug and made for the bathroom.

"I was merely attempting to engage Penny in—" Sheldon looked at his whiteboard and noticed his equation from last night was absent. "What happened to my formula?! Leonard, someone touched my board!"

Leonard stopped in the hall and hung his head. He walked back to the whiteboard. "It looks the same to me."

"No, last night when we got home I wrote down my solution for determining the mass of the Higgs boson. You said it was brilliant"—at this Leonard started walking down the hall—"and I said I got the idea from watching the headlights and—"

"Sheldon," Leonard said as he turned the corner. "Like Penny said—too early for crazy. It was all a dream, ok? Today's July Fourth. We're going to see the fireworks tonight."

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "I don't know why you keep insisting it's Saturday. Your prank has been a failure from the outset thus does not merit a continuance."

Needing to reset the dvd and vcr clocks Sheldon turned on the television to get the correct time from the virtual guide.

"July Fourth. Seven forty three am. Odd," he murmured to himself. He shifted the channel to CNN—'Saturday Express' was on the air. He clicked the remote again and again: CBS This Morning—Saturday; Fox Morning—Saturday.

"Must have been a dream," he said, stunned. He'd never had one so vivid before. The last one that came even close involved Meemaw baking cookies. When he woke he could have sworn he could smell them in the air. He heard Leonard in the hall. "Apparently you were correct. Today is Saturday."

"Glad we have that settled," said Leonard with a towel over his shoulder. "The last thing we need is bat-ass crazy Sheldon on the loose."

Sheldon scowled. "I might not know the day but I'm definite in stating you have seventeen minutes in the washroom before my prescheduled bowel movement takes place."

XxX

At three twenty seven Sheldon heard the sound of keys in the hall.

"What a surprise, Penny's late," he murmured to himself as he stared at his formula on the whiteboard. She couldn't even keep time in his dreams much less manifest this ability in the physical. He opened his apartment door and put on his windbreaker before returning his attention to his board.

Penny opened her door and saw the guys' door similarly open. She took up the baseball bat she kept beside the door and went across the hall.

"Sheldon, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Waiting for you." He capped his marker and put it back on the ledge.

"Me?" Penny's mouth dropped as comprehension came to her. "You mean you're coming with me?"

"As we're already fifteen minutes behind schedule I can only hope we're leaving," Sheldon replied as he slung his messenger bag across his shoulder.

Penny rolled her eyes. "And to think I've got two hours of 'vintage Sheldon Cooper whimsy' to go."

"Relativity in the making as time will seemingly pass at a faster rate than it actually is," Sheldon replied as he locked the door. They began walking down the stairs.

"I'll be happy if it passes at its actual rate."

Sheldon looked at her wide-eyed. "It _does_ pass at its actual rate. There's only the illusion that—Penny were you even listening to me?"

Penny smirked. "From time to time—relatively speaking."

There was a pause as he looked at her in surprise.

XxX

Penny checked her mirrors and put on her hazard lights as she angled the car off the roadway. The car came to a stop and Penny put it into park. She looked at Sheldon and pressed the accelerator; the car sounded anything but healthy. Fearing to do any more damage she shut off the engine and sat back in her seat with a groan.

"Unbelievable."

"Hardly unbelievable. This is the direct result of you ignoring your 'check engine' light for months on end," he tutted.

"Yeah but why now?" she growled as she undid her seatbelt. Both occupants got out of the car.

"Fascinating," said Sheldon.

"What is?" asked Penny as she dialed. "Just a sec." She held up a finger as he began to speak. "Calling AAA."

Sheldon pulled out his phone and texted Leonard the news. Waiting for a response, he gazed at his surroundings and was amazed at how similar they were to his dream. Every detail from the last interchange sign on the highway to the marshy strip next to the car was nearly identical. A nagging voice told him it _was_ identical but Sheldon dismissed it. It _couldn't_ be identical although the chances the scenario would play out as uncannily as it had to his dream were already slim.

Leonard texted back whether they wanted him to pick them up. Sheldon said no—they had to stick with the vehicle until they knew where it was going. Once he knew where it was they could make plans for Leonard to retrieve them.

"Crap on a cracker," Penny said as she hung up her phone.

"An hour and a half?" Sheldon asked.

"Yup." She got into the car and rolled the window down. Sheldon did the same.

Penny sat in dejected silence until she heard her friend's gaspy laugh. "What?"

"It's nothing," he replied. "Well unless you're familiar with the concept of Newtonian Time."

"Might as well spell it out, Sheldon. If there's anything we've got it's time."

He settled back in his seat. "According to Newton, time is part of the fundamental structure of the universe where events occur in sequence. Time travel is therefore possible since time exists like frames of a film strip. One merely has to access a particular frame and events will repeat themselves."

"So what brought this on?"

"I had what appears to be a very detailed dream last night and I'm finding that similar events are occurring in real life."

"Ah, like déjà vu," Penny nodded.

Sheldon snorted. "Déjà vu would imply I'm certain I'd already experienced a current situation. If there's anything I'm 'certain' of it's that déjà vu is an anomaly of memory giving the false impression that an experience is being recalled."

Penny reclined her seat. "So you're saying you think you experienced this before but really you didn't?"

"According to psychologist Edward B. Titchener déjà vu is caused by a person getting a brief glimpse of an object or situation prior to full conscious perception, resulting in a false sense of familiarity."

"So what things are you repeating from your dream?" she asked.

He took a moment to think. "I recall hearing exact dialogue and I knew your car would break down thanks to a broken alternator."

"Wow," Penny breathed. "You know you're right, this isn't déjà vu. It's a psychic dream."

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Good Lord."

XxX

"I thought we'd never get home," Penny sighed as Sheldon and she made it to their landing.

Sheldon dashed to his door and quickly entered his apartment. He hurried to his whiteboard and began scrawling out a formula. Leonard heard the door shut and came out of his bedroom.

"Glad you—"

Sheldon held out a finger to shush his roommate as he read over his formula.

"It's brilliant," Leonard gushed.

"It is, isn't it?" Sheldon smirked.

After grabbing a quick shower and changing into his pajamas he made himself a sandwich before retiring to his room. He turned off the light and settled into his bed, his hands smoothening out the sheets before resting on his chest. There was no doubt the day was unsettling. His mind recalled the multitude of duplicate moments—although he had the sneaking suspicion it would be easier counting the moments of diversion from his 'dream'. Sheldon sighed as he closed his eyes. Hopefully tomorrow would give him some answers.

XxX

Sheldon woke up and looked at his clock. It was flashing four thirty five.

He knew he was in trouble.

XxX

Wikipedia: Newtonian Time; Déjà Vu


	2. Chapter 2

Sheldon woke up and looked at his clock. It was flashing four thirty five.

He was in trouble.

With a frown he put on his watch and housecoat and left his room. After attending to his bathroom needs he stepped over the railroad tracks that lay to the left of the couch and grabbed the remote. Turning on the tv he switched to BBC America—Doctor Who was on. He clicked on the virtual guide and checked the time. July Fourth. Six thirty five am. Shifting the channel to CNN he found 'Saturday Express' on the air; he clicked the remote again and again: CBS This Morning—Saturday; Fox Morning—Saturday.

"Impossible," he whispered as he clicked back to Doctor Who. The absolute, however, was obviously erroneous as he was in fact experiencing another Saturday.

His mind clicked into gear as he thought over what physics had to say on the subject. Travel into the future was theoretically possible using velocity-based time dilation under the theory of special relativity or gravitational time dilation under general relativity. Going backwards in time was less likely as it required the resolution of causality. More logical explanations of his experience had him stepping into multiple parallel universes or closed timelike curves. The question which he couldn't answer was why this was affecting only him. Most importantly, how did he make it stop?

Forty minutes later Leonard dragged himself into the kitchen towards the coffee maker. The pot was empty. He groaned.

"Damn power outage." He switched on the coffee maker and slumped into the easy chair to watch the ending of Doctor Who.

As the credits rolled Sheldon turned to his roommate. "I've got a riddle for you."

"Could it wait until I've had my coffee?" moaned Leonard as he took off his glasses to rub his face.

"I guess," Sheldon pouted. Leonard rarely had an original thought when he was sufficiently alert so he'd be next to useless in this condition. Getting up from his spot Sheldon made his way into the kitchen and prepared his cereal. "Social convention dictates some sort of friendly banter." He returned to the couch. "From what I understand I was difficult yesterday."

"Who said that?" Leonard stammered.

"Not important. Is it true?"

Leonard cocked his head to the side and took a deep breath. "You drove me nuts at lunch when you completely trashed my experiment. You continued to badger me all the way home, during which time we had to stop at Pottery Barn to exchange _your_ Star Wars towels and the Hobby Shop to pick up _your_ railroad crossing signs."

Sheldon nodded. "I see."

"I still don't see why you couldn't have gotten the stuff on Sunday," yawned Leonard.

"The Hobby Shop's closed," Sheldon said neutrally.

The door opened and Penny entered. "Dear God tell me you've got coffee," she pleaded. Sheldon checked his watch.

"Coming up," smiled Leonard. He got up and went to the kitchen to prepare two cups.

"Anyways, I'll be finished work at three so I'll meet you at Ostler Park at around five thirty," said Penny as she leaned against the counter.

Leonard handed her a cup. "So you're sure you don't want us to wait for you?"

"No. You've got the whole day to roam around and explore. Go on. Have fun." She took a sip of coffee and sighed.

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Bazinga," he muttered.

"Aww, what's wrong with you, Moonpie?" asked Penny.

Sheldon scowled. "Don't call me Moonpie. Only Meemaw calls me that."

"Be nice. There's a rule about breaking Sheldon before noon," Leonard said with a smirk.

Penny smiled in return. "Now you know why I start my day at eleven."

Sheldon frowned as his friends completed their exchange. As far as he could tell Penny and Leonard had no idea they were repeating actions and dialogue. Whatever was happening affected everybody save him; likewise it could be said that only he was affected by the sense of recurrence.

"PotAto, potAHto," he sighed.

"What?" asked Penny.

"Oh, just deciding whether or not I've stepped into a parallel earth or am experiencing a closed timelike curve," said Sheldon before taking a bite of his cereal.

"'Closed time'—what?" She looked to Leonard.

"Closed timelike curve," Leonard answered. "It's a worldline, which is the unique path an object—you, me, this coffee cup—takes through 4-dimentional spacetime. It's different than an orbit because it factors in time. In this case the path is 'closed' so it returns to its starting point."

"You mean a circle," Penny reasoned.

"Um—yeah." Leonard said after a moment. "Although why you're bringing up time travel before eight in the morning is beyond me," he said to his roommate.

"I'm repeating the same day," Sheldon said simply.

"Too early for crazy, Sheldon," Penny muttered before taking a sip of her coffee.

Leonard smiled. "When doesn't he have time for crazy?" Sheldon tossed him a scowl.

"Guess he's making every second count this morning," Penny replied.

Sheldon gave an annoyed gaspy laugh. "As unamusing as the last two times you said it."

Penny wasn't sure of the joke. "Sheldon, I didn't—"

"Penny, what time are you heading to the fireworks?" asked Sheldon. "Around three thirty?"

"Something like that, yes."

"Perfect. I have some work I'd like to complete this afternoon and three thirty would be an acceptable departure time."

Penny's jaw dropped. "You're coming with me?"

"Why not? It allows me to work on my project and gives you the added benefit of companionship on the drive." Sheldon gave a twitchy smile. Penny closed her eyes and drank deeply from her cup before setting it on the counter.

"I've got to get going. Thanks for the coffee." She planted a kiss on Leonard's cheek. "Always interesting talking with you, Sheldon."

"I'll expect you between three fifteen and three thirty," Sheldon managed to slip in before she closed the door.

"Just to confirm, you're not coming with Raj, Howard and me?" Leonard asked in what he hoped was a neutral tone.

"No. I have a lot of—"

"Terrific!" Leonard went to the washroom with a gigantic grin on his face.

Sheldon turned to his whiteboard. He had a lot to think about.

XxX

At three twenty seven Sheldon heard the sound of keys in the hall.

He frowned as he stared at his formula on the whiteboard. He needed more data if he was to discern the extent of the closed timelike curve.

"'Circle' indeed," he murmured to himself. "Why not go all the way and call it a 'time loop'?" His thoughts returned to his work until the apartment door opened and Penny entered—showered, dressed and ready to go.

"All set," she said cheerily.

Sheldon nodded before slinging his messenger bag across his shoulder.

Penny rolled her eyes as he silently walked past. "And just to think I've got two hours of 'vintage Sheldon Cooper whimsy' to go."

After locking the door they went down the stairs. Penny looked to the physicist. "You're quiet," she said.

"Just thinking," he replied.

"I'd say 'about what' but we both know I'd be lost after that point," Penny smirked.

"True." He twitched a smile as she thwapped him on the arm. "Not everyone has the skills to reason out quantum theory."

"You mean patience. I don't know how you can spend your time comparing atoms. One's as good as any."

Sheldon pursed his lips. "Your attitude is appalling."

"Eh, it's all relative," she shrugged.

There was a pause as he looked at her in surprise.

XxX

Sheldon leaned back in the seat and held his breath as Penny changed lanes to pass the sedan.

"'Resume breathing, Scotty.' 'Aye, aye, Captain,'" she chuckled. Sheldon pursed his lips but his wide eyes didn't leave the road until their vehicle returned to their lane.

"How you call this driving I'll never understand," he sputtered as he glanced at his watch.

"I drove the family tractor and pickup truck before I was sixteen. I'm a good driver," Penny replied.

"That we haven't died in a ball of fire doesn't mean your driving skills are sound. Besides passing before a bridge you changed lanes without signaling, crowded another vehicle's bumper and continue to drive ten to fifteen miles per hour over the speed limit," Sheldon cited.

Penny took a moment to glare at her passenger. "You want to walk, Sheldon?"

A twitch passed over his lips. "No."

"Then zip it."

The car was silent.

Miles passed before Penny caught a glimpse of Sheldon staring out the side window.

"Ok Moonpie, spill it," she said.

He turned to face her. "What exactly am I supposed to divulge?"

"How 'bout why you're not jabbering my ear off with crazy car games or punch line 'bazingas'," Penny replied.

He stared ahead at the road. "Like I said before, I'm thinking."

"Ah. Ok. I'll shut up."

Silence in the car.

Sheldon let out a disgruntled sigh as his eyebrows furrowed. Penny again looked at him through her mirror but didn't say anything.

More miles passed.

"You know, maybe I won't understand but sometimes talking out your problem makes it easier to sort out," she said.

"Somehow I doubt what I have to say will be something you'll want to hear," he said dubiously.

"Try me." She beamed a smile at her passenger.

"All right. I'll give you a little scenario and you tell me what's happening." Penny sat a little straighter in her excitement. "It's been three days in a row you've woken up to the same day—Saturday."

At once she rolled her eyes. "Oh God Sheldon this isn't that 'I'm in a parallel universe' stuff from this morning is it?"

"Do you want to play or not?" he snapped.

"Ok, ok, my bad. Continue," she soothed.

"Now, as far as you can tell everything's repeating itself in exactly the same sequence—dialogue, events. In fact you find yourself the sole anomaly in that you can distinctly remember each prior day."

"So no one else knows things are repeating except me?" He shook his head. Penny bit her lip as she thought. "Am I repeating the same things or can I change my routine?"

Sheldon smiled. "Good question. You've managed to cause slight variances by your actions or inactions as the case may be." Penny frowned. "For example you might have said 'A' on the first day which triggered a response of 'B' or you said 'B' on the second day which garnered 'C' as a response or you could have said nothing at all and the entire event never transpires."

"What happens then?" she asked. Sheldon gave her a questioning look. "When events that should happen don't. Does that change everything that follows?"

"No. There's a set sequence of master events. The details can be shuffled around or omitted without endangering the overall narrative."

"What are the 'master events'?"

"Irrelevant."

"Maybe not. Maybe I'm stuck until I do something. Or not do something. You know what I mean." Penny had a thought. "So the first thing I'd do is map things out so I could experiment in an organized way."

"I believe there's hope for you yet," said Sheldon with a pleased expression.

The car began to slow down.

"What the frak?" Penny gasped.

"Here we go again," Sheldon sighed.

XxX

Sheldon woke up and looked at his clock. It was flashing four thirty five.

He got up and went to relieve himself in the washroom before venturing to the living room. He sat down at his desk and began devising a chart to plot his days on the computer. True, it wouldn't stay but seeing it visually would help keep things organized in his mind.

A half hour later Sheldon closed the laptop and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. He clicked on the coffee maker and took his cereal and juice to the couch and settled himself to watch Doctor Who.

"Let the experiment commence," he said with a smile.

Five minutes later Leonard dragged himself into the kitchen towards the coffee maker.

"Thank God," he mumbled as he poured himself a cup.

"I took the liberty of switching on the coffee maker since the power outage canceled the timer feature," said Sheldon between bites.

"Thank you," sighed Leonard as he sat in the easy chair to watch the end of Doctor Who.

As the credits rolled Sheldon turned to his roommate. "I've got a riddle for you. It's been four days in a row you've woken up to Saturday. As far as you've observed events pass in a specific order. You are the only one aware of the repetition and furthermore you can cause alterations to the sequence of events by choosing to do or say or not do or say different things. How can such a scenario be possible?"

"You could have stepped into a series of parallel universes or have encountered a closed timelike curve," said Leonard before taking a sip of his coffee. "Of course the parallel world theory would require some fancy footwork."

"Explain."

"Well for one thing, you obviously exist. So what happened to the 'you' in the parallel world? Unless of course you appear on the other side of the planet or someplace where you'll never meet your double."

"No. In this case we'll say you wake up every morning in the apartment at precisely the same time."

"Interesting." Leonard took a moment to think. "The chances of both you and your 'other you' simultaneously slipping into parallel universes are ridiculous so I'd rule that out."

"As have I. Since causality breaks down in a closed timelike curve I find it the more logical assumption."

"However if you keep propagating a field configuration of closed timelike worldlines will eventually result in—"

The door opened and Penny entered. "Dear God tell me you've got coffee," she pleaded.

"Coming up," smiled Leonard. He got up and went to the kitchen to prepare a cup.

"Anyways, I'll be finished work at three so I'll meet you at Ostler Park at around five thirty," said Penny as she leaned against the counter.

Leonard handed her a cup. "So you're sure you don't want us to wait for you?"

"No. You've got the whole day to roam around and explore. Go on. Have fun." She took a sip of coffee and sighed.

"Penny, since you're leaving for the fireworks at three thirty, I'd like a ride," Sheldon said. .

Penny nearly spit out her coffee. "You're coming with me?"

"Why not?" Sheldon gave a twitchy smile. Penny closed her eyes and drank deeply from her cup.

Leonard did his best to suppress his smile. "Well if you're sure that's what you want to do. I mean I totally understand you wanting to stay later. It gives you a second go at getting there." He caught Penny's glare out of the corner of his eye.

Sheldon got up and headed towards the sink. "Did you know the 'second' is the base unit of time in the International System of Units? Between nineteen sixty and nineteen sixty seven it was defined in terms of the period of the Earth's orbit around the Sun but nowadays it's defined more accurately through atomic means."

"Fascinating," Penny said drolly.

"Isn't it?" Sheldon said brightly. "In sixteen eighty, London clockmaker William—"

"Sheldon, remember we had that talk about sarcasm the other week?" said Leonard. After another frustrating round of sarcastic remarks from Penny, Leonard had used his whiteboard to write out a formula showing a direct cause-effect to Sheldon's overzealous recitation of facts.

"How is she going to learn anything if she isn't exposed to information? It's not like she taxes her brain working her menial job, reading tabloid magazines or watching the falsely labeled 'reality' tv."

"Hey," Penny snapped.

Sheldon turned to the waitress. "Were you to spend your free time on more educational pursuits you could possibly improve your mediocre lot in life."

" _Excuse_ _me_?"

"Not that I'm suggesting you'd improve your social or financial standing much above what it is now. Education can only do so much for the base product." Sheldon paused as he rinsed out his bowl. "Perhaps you could return to community college for a food services diploma and become an assistant manager."

"Why not full manager?" growled Penny.

Sheldon put the bowl and spoon into the drain rack. "The managerial position requires a level of responsibility I've never seen you demonstrate. Somehow I doubt being an attendant at the Corn Queen's Court makes you leadership material."

" _Goodbye_ Sheldon," Penny snapped as she made for the door.

"I'll expect you between three fifteen and three thirty," Sheldon managed to slip in before the door closed.

Leonard shook his head in disgust. "You're something else."

"What?" asked a puzzled Sheldon.

"First you ask her for a ride then you essentially call her stupid and her existence, mediocre." Leonard put down his mug and made for the bathroom. Sheldon stood at the hall's entrance.

"I was merely attempting to engage Penny in conversation," Sheldon replied.

"The only thing you're engaging is her temper," warned Leonard.

"So I see," murmured Sheldon as his roommate shut the bathroom door.

XxX

Sheldon leaned back in the seat and held his breath as Penny changed lanes to pass the sedan. He looked to Penny, who stared straight ahead with the same scowl on her face that she'd worn for most of the trip.

"The driver's manual states passing left of a centerline is not permitted thirty meters from a viaduct, tunnel or in this case, bridge," he said in a shaky voice.

"Fascinating."

"I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I think that you're upset."

"Gee, ya think?"

"So I'm right? You know I'm not very good at—"

"I'm upset, Sheldon!"

"Well all right then. Given your demeanor could I surmise that I'm the source of your ire?"

"Where the hell do you get off telling me I'm too dumb to be a manager at a frakking restaurant?" she growled. "Yeah, I might not have gone to university at eleven but I'm not an idiot." She glanced at him. "You are always so damn smug about your education and your memory and all the awards but somehow you can't remember not to be an asshat to other people."

Sheldon was taken aback. "I'm not trying to be mean."

"Well you are."

"Penny, I'm only relating observations."

"Well, observe this: if you have an observation about me just zip your hole, okay? Because I'm already hard enough on myself without you pointing out that I've been here for two years and haven't gotten even one raise much less a promotion."

Again she glanced at Sheldon, who took the cue and made a zipping motion with his fingers against his lips.

They drove in silence. But that didn't mean he wasn't thinking.

XxX

Sheldon's Log: Stardate 62612.8

From an event perspective, today has gone on exactly like the previous three Saturdays. I'm unsure as to the cause of this phenomenon but feel satisfied that there is a sequence of events that results in Penny's car breaking down on the highway and our missing the fireworks. Perhaps I should focus on fixing Penny's vehicle, so as to change up the sequence? Further study is needed.

There is also Penny to consider. She has informed me that my observations about her are upsetting. How is she supposed to improve herself if she is unaware of her destructive actions? Nevertheless, I am her friend and as such will do my best to honour her wishes and say nothing even though I have my misgivings about the entire endeavor.

Tomorrow, she will have an attentive and sympathetic friend.

I feel like a puppy.

End Log.


	3. Chapter 3

Sheldon woke up and looked at his clock. It was flashing four thirty five.

He got up and did his morning vocal test and stretches before putting on his housecoat and slippers. Since he'd already seen Doctor Who there was no need to hurry. After all, he might be trapped in a closed timelike curve but that didn't mean he should be without his routine. That was absolute madness. Besides, he had some thinking to do.

After refreshing himself in the washroom, Sheldon went into the living room. His eyes longingly looked at his train set. Technically, Sunday was train day but as he seemed to have difficulties reaching Sunday he might have to make an exception one day.

"But I'm sure it won't come to that," he murmured to himself and went to the kitchen to prepare his breakfast. Saturday was cereal day but he'd had cereal several days in a row and was finding himself growing tired of it. Normally, the fiber count was of concern but as he seemed to be as regular as always no matter what he ate, he realized that this time loop did affect him to a large degree. In fact, the only thing that seemed to be incongruous with the situation was his memory of prior events. That shouldn't be, and yet it was. Then again, he was Homo Novus.

Deciding on French toast, Sheldon set about preparing breakfast. As he worked, he pondered his impending interaction with Penny. He really couldn't see what was wrong with what he had said to her but obviously there was some sort of violation of social protocol given her negative response. Of course, this might also indicate Penny's time of the month was early, but even Sheldon thought this was not a subject to broach with her.

"I'm a physicist. I shouldn't have to be someone's emotional snuggle bunny," he said as he cracked an egg into a bowl. The thing was, this wasn't just someone, this was Penny. The woman who took him to the miniature golf course and tortured him with her off-key caterwauling and high-pitched laugh. The one who incessantly chatted instead of taking his order and continually questioned his intellectual authority even as she inundated him with sarcasm (or so Leonard explained. Sheldon still wasn't sure of the process so could only take his roommate's word for it).

So much chaos added to his life and here he was again making another alteration in order to appease her fragile ego. He shook his head. "Maybe my mother ought to have me retested." Still, he had an IQ of 187 and Penny was a community college dropout so figuring out Penny shouldn't be too complicated.

Forty minutes later Leonard dragged himself into the kitchen towards the coffee maker. "Thank God," he mumbled as he poured himself a cup.

"I took the liberty of switching on the coffee maker since the power outage canceled the timer feature," said Sheldon between bites of French toast as he sat in his spot. "There's also some French toast for you warming in the oven."

"Thank you," sighed Leonard as he sat in the easy chair to watch the end of Doctor Who. In order to save fuss, Sheldon had switched from his Susskind lecture on PVR to Saturday's Doctor Who episode.

As the credits rolled Sheldon turned to his roommate.

"Leonard, do you find Penny to be problematic? he asked.

"Penny?" Leonard stammered. "Of course not. She's funny and kind and beautiful." He sighed wistfully. "And perfect."

"Hardly perfect," Sheldon snorted. "I can see your powers of insight and observation have been overwhelmed by your libido."

"That's not true," Leonard countered. "Penny is an awesome person and any guy who ends up with her will be the luckiest man in the universe and that doesn't mean I have a 'thing' for her."

"You stole her mail." Sheldon took a bite of French toast.

"We had a date and she shot me down."

"Ah yes, the 'date'. I'm still puzzled by that. From my understanding of observing Missy and her various paramours, both participants must be aware that they are on a date. As Penny—"

The door opened and Penny entered.

"Dear God tell me you've got coffee," she pleaded. She had gotten up to use the washroom and nearly had kittens when she saw her alarm clock flashing. Since she wanted the evening off to go with the guys to see the July Fourth fireworks she'd taken an early shift at the Cheesecake Factory.

"Coming up," Leonard said quickly and popped up and went to the kitchen to prepare her mug and refresh his own.

Penny leaned against the counter. "Anyways, I'll be finished work at three so I'll meet you at Ostler Park at around five thirty."

"You know, most people might not realize the importance of menial help to the workforce but if it wasn't for amiable underlings like you, people like me would be wasting precious time in food preparation and serving. So bully for you," Sheldon said cheerily and punctuated it with a flash of an awkward smile.

"Yay underlings," Penny mock cheered as Leonard handed her a mug. "Be nice if we were rewarded for our work with something a little better than minimum wage."

"Well, it's not like what you're doing is complex and can't be done by a child," Sheldon said.

"Uh, so four thirty," Leonard stammered as he took in Penny's frown. "Sounds like a plan."

"Well, it's not like what you do can't be done by a kid," Penny snapped. "What was his name, Dennis Kim?"

Sheldon's face tightened as if slapped. He took in a breath to let out a scathing retort but then recalled the intent for this interaction, i.e. cheering Penny up.

"Point," he muttered. "Look, I'm not saying you aren't good at what you do. In fact you're exceptional." Here his eye twitched. "It's that what you do is menial. Perhaps you ought to reconsider community college."

Penny raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said community college sucked?"

"Community college does not challenge my intellectual capabilities, but that's irrelevant to my point. What matters is what you're capable of doing and I believe you're more than capable of completing a community college course."

"Not helping, Sheldon," Leonard whimpered.

"How am I not helping?" Sheldon said in an exasperated tone. "Penny works for minimum wage and hasn't procured a paying acting job since we've known her. Now, either she can choose to continue her fruitless path or she can change her fortune and attain something better than what she has now—which at this point isn't difficult."

"My acting isn't fruitless," Penny scowled. "I'm getting experience and making contacts."

"But are you getting paid? Are you satisfied with your current situation?"

"Of course not. But that doesn't mean I won't make it."

"The odds are not in your favor."

"Screw the odds. And screw you," Penny said, her eyes slits as she glared at Sheldon.

"You're upset?" He took in her 'no shit Sherlock' look. "There's no reason to be upset."

"You're calling my career a waste of time."

"I'm only concurring with you. You told me in the hallway before you started playing Age of Conan that you were a failure."

"And you're supposed to tell me that I'm not!" Penny said loudly. In her agitation she spilled some of her coffee on the floor. "You're supposed to be my friend!"

Sheldon was confused. "You are my friend. Why would I lie to you?"

Penny let out a frustrated growl.

"It's social convention," Leonard piped in.

"So I'm supposed to perpetuate the delusion that she'll 'make it', even though I hear her wallowing in self-pity and consuming an overabundance of alcohol?" Sheldon said. "I see." A very warped smile came to his face. "Buck up, pal."

"Y'know, maybe I'd be better off with Dennis Kim," Penny said and marched to the door.

"Fine. Go to the fireworks by yourself," Sheldon spat back.

After Penny had slammed her apartment door shut, Leonard shook his head in disgust. "You're something else."

"Oh stuff it," Sheldon snapped and marched to his room.

...

At three twenty seven Sheldon heard the sound of keys in the hall.

He frowned as he stared at his formula on the whiteboard. Penny was home and in roughly fifteen minutes she'd be out the door and off to an appointment with the AAA man on the side of the road. He'd say it was the alternator acting up and advise her to get it fixed in Harrison but she'll decide against that so he'll fix her up as best he can and send her on her way.

Exactly fifteen minutes later he heard her door shut and the sound of her flip-flopping feet in the hallway until they disappeared down the stairs. No apology. All Sheldon was trying to do was bolster her spirits and encourage her to pursue something worth her while and what did he get in exchange? Dennis Kim bested him. He pursed his lips even as he clasped his hands behind his back. Still, he'd have today without her to work in peace. A day without country music, sarcasm and banal conversation.

"Perfect," he said with a small smile and resumed pondering his plight.

...

Sheldon didn't like what he was seeing on the board. He was never one to leave things to fate but in this instance he realized that he had no idea what caused the closed timelike curve to appear much less how to escape it. _What if I can't escape?_

"Now, now, Dr. Cooper, no need for hysterics," he tsked. It wasn't like he was in immediate danger of death so he might as well take advantage of—

The phone rang. "And that should be Penny asking me for a loan for her car," he said as he picked up the landline phone. "Hello?"

"Have you heard from Penny?" Leonard asked, his voice concerned.

"Not as yet." Sheldon picked up his cell phone and called Penny. No answer. "She's not picking up. Why isn't she picking up?"

"I don't know. She called to say that her car broke down and that she was going to get it serviced but I don't know where—"

"Harrison. That's the closest garage to where she broke down. That's where she would have been towed," Sheldon said seriously. Gone was all trace of smarminess.

"How do you know that?"

"It's only logical, Leonard. They're not going to send her across State to deal with a faulty alternator."

"How do you—"

"We're wasting time," Sheldon snapped. "Get to Harrison and I'll keep trying to reach Penny."

He hung up the landline and proceeded to text her.

 _scooperphd: Penny, are you all right?_

 _scooperphd: Call or text Leonard if you don't want to talk to me._

Sheldon couldn't shake the fear which unsettled his stomach. There was no reason to suspect that something had happened to Penny. The AAA man was civilized enough and Sheldon couldn't see him doing anything inappropriate. Besides, Penny could take care of herself. Right?

 _scooperphd: Penny, please call me._

One hour became two and then three and still no call or text from Penny. Sheldon knew that someone as verbose as Penny wouldn't be willingly incommunicado for this long. He called her number again.

 _"Hi there! Can't take your call but that doesn't mean I don't wanna, so leave a message."_ _BEEP_

He hung up and called Leonard.

"Have you found her?" Sheldon asked, not even trying to conceal his panic.

"Nothing," Leonard said.

Sheldon could barely hear him for all the crowd of people around him. "Where are you?"

"At a county fair. We got to Harrison and found Penny's car at the garage. The alternator had blown so it was going to take a while to fix so the mechanic suggested she check out the fair. He tried calling her later but no response."

"Did you call the police?"

"I got the sheriff and he said he'd keep a lookout for her but that there really wasn't much to do until twenty four hours had passed. He said to come back tomorrow so we're—"

Sheldon hung up. He raced to his room, closed the door and flopped onto his bed. He closed his eyes, trying to steady his racing heart. _Please, please, please._ This had to work. It had to.

 _Penny, I'm sorry, I'm so—_

XxX

Sheldon woke up and looked at his clock. It was flashing four thirty five.

Like a shot he bolted from his bed, grabbed his housecoat and dashed out of the apartment to Penny's door. He got into his housecoat and adjusted the ties before he knocked.

 _Knock knock knock_ "Penny?"

No answer.

 _Knock Knock Knock_ "Penny?"

Nothing.

 _Knock! Knock! Knock!_ "Penny!"

The door opened and— _Thank you, Jesus!_ —a groggy Penny in her white undershirt and short shorts stood before her. "WHAT?!" she snapped.

He paused. "I'll be busy this afternoon so will require a ride to the fireworks."

"You woke me up at six thirty for THAT?"

"You said to give you advanced warning should I require a ride."

Penny rolled her eyes even as she closed the door.

Sheldon waited a moment before he took a deep breath.

"Time for breakfast," he said. Today was going to be a long one.

...

"Thank you and have a nice day," Penny said with a smile, even though she'd already done a quick count with her eyes and decided there really wasn't much of a tip on the credit card receipt given the amount of service she'd given to the family of two adults and four children.

"Looks like another round of bad cheques," she murmured as she pocketed the receipt and cash tray in her apron. She went to the bar and submitted the items and informed the bus boy that table seven was ready for cleanup.

In response the busboy grinned his gap-toothed smile. "Looks like someone came early." Penny turned and to her surprise saw Sheldon at his usual table. As she wandered over the busboy went about his business. Granted, Sheldon was strange but he did keep a clean table.

"Hey. Fancy meeting you here," Penny said in a friendly enough voice even though she was wary. Whenever Sheldon deviated from his routine it meant that he was up to something.

"It's an eating establishment and it's lunch time. My being here isn't surprising at all. If anything, it's most probable," he replied evenly. "Menu please?"

"I didn't bring one."

He raised an eyebrow. "Then how am I supposed to order?"

"You mean you're gonna order something different?"

"No, but that's not the point," he said. Penny rolled her eyes. "To place an order means that I've made a selection and without a menu of choice I can't make one."

"Even though it'll be the same choice you've made ever since you've come to this restaurant," Penny said with a smirk.

His blue eyes met hers. "Exactly."

Penny opened her mouth to say something but thought otherwise and went to get the menu. She had been mentally preparing herself for an afternoon of Sheldon in the car but apparently the crazy was going to start early.

"A menu for you," she said as she handed it to him. Before he said anything she began to write on her notepad. "One barbecue bacon cheeseburger. Barbecue sauce, bacon and cheese on the side and one lemonade."

Sheldon had a frown on his face as he perused the menu. "No wonder your tips are miniscule."

"Y'know, some people would tip me more because I know their order so I can get it in faster."

"I suppose some people would." Sheldon closed the menu. "I'll have the barbecue bacon cheeseburger. Barbecue sauce, bacon and cheese on the side, and a lemonade."

Penny whirled her pen in the air and tapped her pad. "Poof! Your order has been received."

Sheldon gave her a gaspy laugh and then punctuated it with a scowl as he handed her the menu. In response she winked and went to the order kiosk.

...

At three twenty seven Sheldon heard the sound of keys in the hall.

He sighed as he stared at his formula on the whiteboard. As much as he wanted to, he hadn't gotten any further ahead with his plight. At least not from a scientific bent. Instead he wondered about the personal walls of his 'prison'. It seemed that he was destined to spend his day with Penny or else—His brow furrowed as he chased the memory of yesterday from his mind. Like Penny had said earlier, maybe there was something Sheldon had to do in order to get out of his situation.

"Perhaps help Penny? But in what way?" He thought over her financial situation, her career, her drinking, nightclub hopping, frequent boyfriends. The list was endless. He shook his head. "Pygmalion had fewer things to correct."

His thoughts returned to improving Penny until the apartment door opened and Penny entered—showered, dressed and ready to go.

"All set," she said cheerily.

"As set as anyone with a check engine light on can be," Sheldon nodded before slinging his messenger bag across his shoulder.

Penny rolled her eyes as he walked past. "And to think I've got two hours of 'vintage Sheldon Cooper whimsy' to go."

After locking the door they went down the stairs. Penny looked to the physicist. "Hope you remembered to take a washroom break before we go. It was a nightmare driving with Raj. Poor guy ought to have his bladder checked."

"It's a nervous condition not a physical ailment."

"So he's nervous about driving?"

"He's nervous around you."

Penny grinned. "Still?"

"He said you smell wonderfully and still brings up the time you hugged him, mostly to infuriate Wolowitz."

They got to the landing. "Yeah, me hugging Howard is not gonna happen."

"A wise decision."

"A relatively easy one."

Sheldon's mouth opened in surprise as they exited the building. "There you go again."

"Go where?"

"Your reference to relativity. This can't be a coincidence."

Penny unlocked the car. "Why the big deal?"

Sheldon hesitated before they got into the vehicle. "Because it's Einstein, and his theories of general and special relativity involve areas of space and time."

Penny chuckled as she started the car and drove away. "Yeah, that's me. Call me Einstein." Her smile became a grin as she took in Sheldon's rolling eyes.

Traffic was light as most people were already at the beach or having barbecues at their apartments or houses. Penny loved July Fourth because it was a time for family and friends. Of course, this year meant getting exposed to Sheldon Cooper up close and personal. Not that she said it to anyone, but aside from thinking Sheldon as being one weird whackadoodle she did respect him for his mind. He was smarter than she would ever be.

Sheldon's mind was a flurry of activity as he saw the sign for the exit ramp to the highway. "Penny, before we go to the fireworks there's some place I'd like to go first," he said.

"Everything's closed," she replied. "Besides, the guys are waiting for us."

"They can wait a little longer. Now, I'd like to go to 726 Clearborne Avenue."

"What's there?" she asked as she drove past the exit ramp.

"A garage."

Immediately her mouth became a line of pressed lips. "I don't need a garage."

"Penny, we're going to be on the highway for an extended trip. I want to make sure the car is in tip-top condition. I mean anything could go wrong: a blown tire, overheated engine," his cheek twitched, "perhaps a blown alternator."

"Sheldon, I can't afford to—"

"I'll pay for the inspection. After all, it's at my request."

Penny pulled into the left hand turn lane. "It's not like it'll do anything. They could say the car needs a whole new engine and there's nothing I can do about it." Here she sighed. "I mean I'm still making car payments on this stupid thing."

"All the more reason why you should take care of your asset." Even Sheldon could see she wasn't convinced this was a good idea. "Besides, I owe you a tip from lunch."

"So, what, you gonna buy me a carburetor?" Penny snorted.

"If I have to."

"Nuh uh. Not a charity case here. I pay my own bills."

Sheldon was puzzled. "You mooch food and coffee from my apartment."

"Fine. I won't do that anymore." Her grip on the steering wheel tightened.

"As I said before, you are an integral part of the food chain with your scavenging ways. Besides, thanks to you we rarely have leftovers and have saved money on buying plastic wrap." Penny laughed and in return Sheldon flashed her a small smile. He wasn't sure what was so funny about what he had said but it had lightened the mood so he'd live with it.

They pulled in at Wallace's Garage and Sheldon told the mechanic that Penny's check engine light had come on so they wanted to know what was wrong before they drove the car out of town.

After twenty minutes the mechanic came to see them in the small waiting room with up to date Popular Mechanics magazines.

"The alternator's about ready to go," he said. "Can't do anything about it today since we don't have one in stock. The best I can recommend is drive this as little as possible and come back tomorrow."

"Damn," Penny sighed. _Hello credit card_. "So much for the fireworks."

"We're not limited," Sheldon said as he went to the counter and fished out his wallet. "They have plenty of fireworks streaming online we can watch."

"That'll be sixty five bucks," the mechanic said. Sheldon paid him cash.

"Thanks a lot, Sheldon," Penny said when they were back in her car. "I'll pay you back—"

"It's your tip and my safety. Think nothing of it." Penny put the car in gear and drove out of the parking lot. "So what's your course of action?"

"Well, I guess I get to a payday loan tomorrow and fix my car."

Sheldon was horrified. "Penny, those are a racket. You'll take a loan from me." She made to protest. "I don't charge interest and you'll pay me back when you can."

Penny thought it over and then glanced at him with a grateful look. "Thanks Sheldon."

"You're welcome."

She signaled and went right. "Okay, you paid for this so that means I'll treat us to some ice caps. No point in wasting what was gonna be a diet-popping occasion."

"Make it a lemonade and it's a deal," Sheldon said.

...

Leonard opened the door to find Sheldon and Penny on the couch watching the fireworks on the television. There was a pizza box on the coffee table and empty bottles of orange soda and beer.

"Hey guys," Leonard said as he deposited his keys in the bowl. "Sorry you couldn't make it. The fireworks were spectacular."

"Eh, there's always next year," Penny said and took a swig of beer. "Besides, we could have spent the evening camped out on the highway instead of in comfort here."

"Well said," Sheldon agreed. They clinked soda and beer bottles.

That night, Sheldon slept wonderfully.


	4. Chapter 4

Sheldon woke up and looked at his clock. It was flashing four thirty five.

Knowing that he had forty minutes before Leonard woke up he took his time in the washroom grooming himself before hopping into the shower. As he soaped and shampooed, Sheldon made a mental list of the things he wanted to do before going on his trip to see the AAA man. There was no doubt he was going, especially after Penny disappeared. Besides, both Sheldon and she spent a reasonably tolerable evening watching fireworks, eating pizza and, in Penny's case, drinking beer.

 _"So when were fireworks invented anyways?" Penny asked before taking a sip of beer. When they got back home she had darted into her apartment to change into her green comfy shorts, yellow tank top, and brown booty slippers before getting the remaining three bottles of her six pack of beer. She thought about grabbing the bag of barbecue chips from the cupboard but remembered that Sheldon always had something good around the apartment whether it was popcorn, Pringle chips or pretzels._

 _Sheldon finished chewing his bite of pizza before responding. "Well, the earliest documentation of fireworks dates back to seventh century China, time of the Tang Dynasty. The art and science of firework making had developed into an independent profession. The pyrotechnicians were respected for their knowledge of complex techniques in mounding firework displays." He raised the pizza slice to his mouth and paused. "Chinese people originally believed that the fireworks could expel evil spirits. and bring about luck and happiness." He took a bite and set the slice on the plate which rested on his lap._

 _"I'd believe it," Penny said, he mouth full of pizza. She caught Sheldon's frown and quickly chewed and swallowed. "Back in Nebraska we'd have fireworks at the fairs and carnivals. I remember a lot of times laying in the back of trucks staring at the sky. All the pretty colours and explosions made me happy."_

 _"My sister did the same thing when we went for the fireworks. Of course when she was older she went in her boyfriends' trucks, something which Mother frowned upon." Sheldon picked up his bottle of orange soda from the table. "Then she'd say that it wasn't good practice to give the milk for free if Missy wanted a fella to buy the cow. Sound advice from an economic standpoint, although why Mother chose at these moments to discuss agriculture is beyond me."_

 _Penny let loose with a wide smile, unable to help herself. "Yeah, sweetie, it sure is."_

 _"Still, this does lead to a relevant question—do you like fairs?"_

 _"Yeah. That's why I was game to go with you guys to Ostler Park, although I think it was more of a picnic place than a fair. Fireworks are best seen over the water or out in the boonies."_

 _"Surrounded by your fellow corn aficionados," Sheldon said with a twitch of a smile even as Penny stuck out her tongue._

 _"Well in this case I'm spending my fireworks evening with a genius physicist." She took a bite of pizza._

 _"That's right, so this can be a learning experience for you." He set the pizza plate on the table and picked up a napkin to wipe his individual fingers. "Fireworks are a formulation of chemical reactions which fall under the paradigm of physics. So. What is physics? Physics comes from the ancient Greek work physika. Physika means the science of natural things. But, of course, in this instance our focus is on China. It's a warm summer evening in the Tang Dynasty. You've finished your shopping at the local market, or chaoshi, and you look up at the night sky. There you notice some of the stars seem to explode in a fiery wash of colour, and you recognize it as Yanhua, or fireworks—"_

 _"Just a sec." Penny drained the rest of her beer and set the bottle on the table. She then settled herself into the couch in order to better see the fireworks on the television. "Fire away, Doc."_

 _Sheldon handed her a napkin with which to wipe her hands. A repeating night or not, he wasn't going to have his couch stamped with pizza prints. "Now, you pay for your wares and set out to find the origin of the fireworks and..."_

Sheldon set about making his breakfast. Forty minutes later Leonard dragged himself into the kitchen towards the coffee maker.

"Thank God," he mumbled as he poured himself a cup.

"I took the liberty of switching on the coffee maker since the power outage canceled the timer feature." said Sheldon between bites of cereal.

"Thank you," sighed Leonard as he sat in the easy chair to watch the end of Doctor Who.

As the credits rolled Sheldon turned to his roommate.

"Leonard, I have a quandary," he said.

"Shoot." Leonard blew on his coffee before taking a sip.

"Penny was angry because I broke into her apartment to clean it and yet reacted favorably when you returned her stolen mail," Sheldon said. Leonard choked on his coffee. "One act is benevolent and the other, self-serving, and yet they seemed to have opposite results."

"I didn't steal her mail," Leonard gasped.

"You picked the lock with a nail file. Anyways, the act I'm planning is both self-serving and looking out for Penny's wellbeing."

Leonard's face reddened. "The mail person looked shifty. I was just checking to see that her mail hadn't been tampered with."

"Tampered mail would require you actually leaving mail in the box." Sheldon frowned. "Leonard, focus. Should I be forthcoming and tell Penny my plans or should I work under the pretext of doing something which I have no intention of doing?"

"What do you have planned with Penny?" Leonard asked, trying not to sound jealous. This was Sheldon after all. He probably had a trip to the comic book store in mind.

"Well, I—"

The door opened and Penny entered.

"Dear God tell me you've got coffee," she pleaded.

"Coming up," Leonard said quickly and popped up and went to the kitchen to prepare her mug and refresh his own.

Penny leaned against the counter. "Anyways, I'll be finished work at three so I'll meet you at Ostler Park at around five thirty."

Leonard handed her a cup. "So you're sure you don't want us to wait for you?"

"Of course not, Leonard. You've got the whole day to roam around and explore. Go on. Have fun," Sheldon said with an overenthusiastic grin.

"Eyah, what he said," Penny said with an odd look at her even odder neighbor. She took a sip of coffee and sighed.

"Wait, are you saying you're not coming with me?" Leonard said slowly, hoping against hope.

"Of course not. I'm going with Penny," Sheldon said. He got up from his spot and crossed by a choking Penny in order to rinse out his bowl and glass in the sink.

"You're coming with me?" Penny said at last after a rather loud throat clearing sound.

"Drat, you've seen through my dastardly plans," Sheldon said as he put his bowl in the drain tray. "Bazinga."

Leonard smiled behind his cup. "And there's plenty more Cooper-inspired whimsy to come," he said and took a sip.

Penny racked her brain. "Sweetie, look, I'm gonna be a while so maybe you should go with—"

"A three-thirty departure time gives me more than enough time," Sheldon said. He raised an eyebrow. "You do get off at three, right?"

"Oh balls," Penny sighed and took an extra long slug of coffee.

"Excellent." Sheldon clasped his hands behind his back. "I'd say, 'be on time', but it's my experience that any number of Penny's couldn't achieve this."

"Hey! I'll be on time."

Sheldon walked down the hall towards the bathroom. "There once was a waitress named Penny. A Fi Fa Diddle Dee Dee. She'll arrive at three-twenty-seven, which is as close as she'll get to three."

...

At three twenty seven Sheldon heard the sound of keys in the hall.

He spent several minutes looking over his formulas on the board. They were a mix of physics and cornhusker-like activities. Given what he remembered of Penny talking about her upbringing in Nebraska, Sheldon felt he had enough information to provide a memorable day. Besides, if things didn't go according to plan there was always tomorrow.

"And tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow," he murmured and erased the whiteboard. He had no idea what created the closed timelike curve, much less how to extract himself from the mess. _What if I'm stuck here forever?_

"One problem at a time, Dr. Cooper." Sheldon went to the refrigerator and pulled out a number of water bottles and put them into a small cooler.

The apartment door opened and Penny entered—showered, dressed and ready to go.

"All set," she said cheerily.

"Three-forty. I believe this is some sort of record for you, Penny," he said and closed the cooler.

"Yeah, yeah," she said and then went to the counter to take the cooler from Sheldon's proffered hand. She raised an eyebrow as Sheldon donned a backpack and grabbed a cloth bag with a blanket in it. "What's with all the goods?"

"I believe in being prepared," Sheldon said, and the pair went to the door.

"Boy Scouts and all that stuff, huh?"

"I never joined," Sheldon said as he pulled out his keys and locked his door.

"Ah. Right. Forgot you're not a joiner." They began their descent down the stairs.

"If you mean I am not a mindless drone, then yes. But if you're saying I don't join things as a rule, you're mistaken. I'm a member of the Museum of Natural History, the Astronomy Society , the library and, of course, my membership in the Justice League."

"What's the Justice League?"

"The Justice League of America. It's a crime-fighting association."

Penny was delighted. "Oh cool! So you're like Magnum P.I., only without the cool car and moustache and cute laugh and that butt!"

"I am not a private eye," Sheldon sniffed. "Detective work is Bat-Man's job."

"Bat-Man? He's a member of the Justice League?"

"A founding member. He even signed my membership card."

Penny paused. "Uh, how old were you when you joined?"

"Five. I can show it to you when we get to the car." A small smile twitched his lips. "I never thought you'd be interested. My estimation of you, while admittedly small, has risen."

"Well I have to be estimated. I know your secret identity, right Moonpie?"

Penny grinned as she pushed open the front door, a scowling Sheldon followed behind.

...

"The driver's manual states passing left of a centerline is not permitted thirty meters from a viaduct, tunnel or in this case, bridge," Sheldon said in a strained voice.

"How many feet is thirty meters?" Penny asked.

"Ninety eight point four three."

Penny's tongue plucked the side of her cheek. "Yeah, ok, I'd say we're close to a hundred feet." She sped up and changed lanes to pass the sedan before weaving seamlessly back into her original lane and crossed the bridge. She looked over at Sheldon, who was pressed against his seat, his eyes wide. "'Resume breathing, Scotty.' 'Aye, aye, Captain,'" she chuckled.

"You did that on purpose," Sheldon scowled even as he did his best to steady his heartbeat.

"Well the old lady was going too slow."

"I mean you purposefully contesting my will with your own."

Penny smirked. "Sorry, sweetie, didn't know we were back to this, 'I'm homo novus' stuff." She glanced at Sheldon with wide green eyes. "Gee willikers, Dr. C., tell me more about how to drive."

"You're impossible," Sheldon said as he folded his arms across his chest.

"You said there's no such thing."

"I stand corrected. You are an anomaly of the first order."

Penny's smile was wide. "Penny the Impossible! Hey, I could be a member of your Justice Team."

"Justice League."

"Whatever," she said, aware of his deepening frown but choosing to ignore it. "Penny the Impossible and her sidekick, Moonpie!" Sheldon pished. "Okay, Dr. Whackadoodle!"

"Amusing," Sheldon said in a huffy voice. "I'll be sure not to tell you the location of the Bat-Cave."

"What's the Bat-Cave? Is that the place where Bat-Man hangs out?" Penny unintentionally snorted. "Get it? Hangs out?" Sheldon wrinkled his nose. "Why would I wanna know where the Bat-Cave is?"

"Because some of the Justice League meetings are held there."

"Well, if I can't go there I guess you'll have to take the bus. That should impress the Bat-Dude."

Sheldon turned to her and cocked his head to the left. "Now you're being intentionally antagonistic." Penny tapped the tip of her nose with her pointy finger. Sheldon gave a gaspy, although clearly unimpressed, laugh and turned his head to look out the side window. This was not how he had imagined the day would go. He had it planned out and here was Penny being, well, Penny, and frustrating him. Sheldon caught his eyes in the passenger side mirror. _Well, Meemaw didn't raise no quitter, no sir._

"Leonard and I play games in order to pass the time," Sheldon said in an enthusiastic tone. "We could revisit the periodic element game where you say an element and I try to say another using the last letter of your word." Penny made to speak. "Or, we could play a more personal game of 'What Would You Do?'"

"Let's try that one." Penny bit her lip in thought. "Let's see. What would you—"

"I'll go first," Sheldon interjected. "Now, what would you do if—Penny, quit laughing and pay attention—what would you do if you lived the same day over and over again?"

"Depends. Do I appear the same way every day? My bank account, my weight, everything the same?"

"Everything."

Penny grinned. "Then the sky's the limit. I'd eat whatever I wanted, go shopping on Rodeo Drive," her eyes brightened, "take out sports cars for a spin." She glanced at Sheldon. "Just think of me behind the wheel of a Ferrari." She paused. "Wait, can I die or does my death also disappear?"

"I'm not sure. The math suggests that everything should reset, and yet you, yourself are an anomaly because you realize you're repeating the same day." Sheldon's eyes narrowed in thought. "But so far the physical aspect has been repeated: bowel movements are at appointed times regardless of the fiber content consumed, the scale stays the same, even whisker length returns to what it was at the beginning of the day."

"Whisker length?" Penny rubbed her bare calf against the shin of her right leg and was relieved that she couldn't feel any stubble.

"Anyways, you mentioned gluttony, near-death driving experience, banal boredom on Rodeo Drive. Pick one and we'll do it."

"Seriously?"

"No Bazinga."

Penny tried her best to figure out where this was coming from but aside from left field she had no other answer. "But what about the guys? They're expecting us."

"We can always see them tomorrow," Sheldon countered.

"You mean we'll be doing this tomorrow, anyways," Penny said with a smirk.

"Correct. So which activity do you choose?"

"You really don't wanna go to the fireworks, do you?"

Sheldon snorted. "Well, it's not like I've actually seen them, but to go with your premise, no, I don't feel like standing around waiting for roadside assistance."

"Why would you be—"

"Although it does occur to me that the AAA driver gave a second option to go to a garage." Sheldon smirked. "Yes, we'll go to the garage today."

"So you want me to drop you off at a garage?" Penny said. This was getting weirder by the minute.

"No, I have to be with you."

"Why?"

Sheldon was silent a moment as he recalled the sick feeling he had when he realized she was missing. "Because I do."

"You're telling me that we repeat one day and you want to spend it with me?" Penny asked incredulously. "I mean, why not James Earl Jones or Leonard Nimoy?"

"I can't explain it," Sheldon said with a shrug.

"I can. It means I'm the center of your universe," Penny said in a chipper tone.

"Hardly."

"Joke, sweetie. I—" The car began to slow down. "What the frak?"

"You can pull off in about fourteen meters," he said.

Penny checked her mirrors and put on her hazard lights as she angled the car off the roadway. The car came to a stop and she put it into park. She looked at Sheldon and pressed the accelerator; the car sounded anything but healthy. Fearing to do any more damage she shut off the engine and sat back in her seat.

Sheldon handed her his phone. "Remember, choose the garage option."

...

Sheldon's arms were folded across his chest as he scanned the various tools scattered around the garage.

"Are you sure he's competent?" Sheldon asked Penny as he scowled at the mechanic.

Penny clenched her teeth in a wince. "Sheldon, keep your voice down," she hissed.

"Well he couldn't answer me when I asked him about the engine."

"'Wouldn't'. Big difference between the words." Now the waitress was the focus of his glare. "You grilled him for nearly twenty minutes about the history of the modern combustible engine. Cut him so slack will you? He's actually working on the car on July Fourth."

"Combustion engine."

"What? Oh whatever." Penny was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. She checked the screen. "It's Leonard. … Hey Leonard. Yeah we got to the garage…." A teenage girl with brown curly hair passed Penny as the Nebraskan walked out of the garage so to better hear the phone.

"Hey dad," the girl said to the mechanic. "Can I have twenty dollars? I'll pay you back when I get paid next week."

Sheldon rolled his eyes. Looks like Penny wasn't the only one without a 'budgeting gene' as she had called it.

"Out tonight?" the mechanic asked without looking up from the Volkswagen's engine.

"I thought I'd go back to the fair and, you know, see the fireworks and whatnot," she shrugged.

The mechanic stopped what he was doing to regard his daughter. "I don't want you going alone, Kate."

"No I'm meeting Dennis." There was a pregnant pause.

"Ok, you kids have fun—but not too late or your mom will kill you. And me." He reached into his pocket and took the twenty dollars from his wallet. Kate kissed her father on the cheek and raced from the garage, smiling at Penny as, again, the two crossed paths.

"I told Leonard to be on standby depending on what Mark says about the engine," said Penny to Sheldon as she indicated the mechanic with a nod of her head.

"I've got the verdict now, actually," said Mark. He grabbed a towel to wipe his hands and walked to the two friends. "Your alternator's gone. Your fuel pump needs replacing at some point and I'd recommend a full mechanical when you get back."

"When you say 'at some point' you mean some point near now or in the future now?" asked Penny as she envisioned the cost.

Mark grinned. "Somewhere in between. I can get this done for you but it'd take several hours and I imagine you kids want to get yourselves home."

"Perceptive," Sheldon said through pursed lips. Penny gave him an elbow.

"It'd be appreciated," said Penny.

"Ok then, I'll just replace the alternator," Mark said as he fished a pen and pad from his pocket.

Penny braced herself. "How much?"

"Well you're lucky I have a refurbished one for your make and model. Volkswagens aren't that common around here. Labor will be an hour so"—here he paused—"two seventy five."

"Fine," Penny said with a sigh. So much for catching up on her bills this month.

"I'll write up the estimate. I have another vehicle ahead of you so it'll take a couple of hours."

"Perhaps more if you entertain any more of your family members while you work," grumbled Sheldon. Penny gave him a dark look.

Biting back a response Mark suddenly had a thought. "You know there's a July Fourth fair in town. Why don't you go enjoy it and come back later?" He indicated Sheldon with his eyes as he faced Penny.

"Sounds good to me," she said overenthusiastically. "Come on Sheldon."

"Oh very well," Sheldon said. "We'll be back in two hours."

"Make it two and a half just to be sure," Mark said hastily. The last thing he wanted was more time with the annoying physicist.

...

"I'm proud of you Penny. You bypassed several tables offering various female adornments," said Sheldon as they walked away from the vendors' area.

"Yeah," Penny said sadly. One lady had an amazing copper necklace with a pendent in the shape of a dragonfly. The only thing that separated the waitress from the jewelry was the sixty dollars needed to buy it. It really sucked being poor. She looked longingly at the Ferris wheel. Maybe what she needed was a new perspective. "Let's go to the midway."

Sheldon raised an eyebrow. "Whatever for?"

"I want to go on some of the rides," she responded as she picked up her pace. "Besides, this was your idea going to the garage."

"We only have an hour and a half left before we pick up the car," he reminded her.

"Uh huh. Twenty tickets please," she told the ticket agent.

"Need I also remind you that you've already spent two hundred and seventy five dollars on your car not more than an hour ago?"

Penny turned to face him with a smile. "You only live once, Sheldon." He studied her for a moment, puzzled at her upbeat demeanor given their misfortune. "So what should I try first? Any favorites?" Penny asked as they moved among the crowd.

"Preferably something that doesn't overwhelm my senses," said Sheldon as he steered them away from the 'Rock n Roll Express'.

"I'm surprised no one's bleeding from the ears," agreed Penny.

"Actually injuries at portable carnivals are extremely unlikely," Sheldon reassured her. "In 2004 there were twenty five hundred non-occupational injuries treated in emergency rooms. Not an overwhelming number considering the mobile amusement industry had over three hundred million people visit their various venues."

"What's the percentage?"

".000833. Why?"

Penny grinned. "Just wanted to know if you could do it." Sheldon pursed his lips.

"Never doubt me."

"Oh! Tilt-A-Whirl. I so love that ride." Penny got in line and Sheldon stood beside her, though on the other side of the chain barrier.

"You realize this ride works as a result of centripetal acceleration," he said as he watched the ride in motion.

"Never heard of centripetal before."

"From the Latin _centrum_ 'center' and _petere_ 'to seek'. It's a force that compels a body to follow a curved path. When you're in circular motion at a constant velocity, the centripetal force on you is constant and is directed at the center of the circle."

"Huh."

"I'll hazard a guess that Newton's second law was never covered at Cornhusker High," tsked Sheldon.

"Didn't need it to hack up a frog." Penny smiled at the memory. "My lab partner and I used to make the legs move by pulling on the frog's tendons with our tweezers."

"Lovely," grimaced Sheldon. The ride finished and people exited. The gate opened.

"Wait for me by the exit," said Penny as she handed her tickets to the operator who gave her a rather toothy grin.

Walking to the other side of the ride, Sheldon pulled out his phone and logged onto Twitter. ' _At a carnival midway with Penny instead of doing something memorable_ ', he typed. He surfed the web until he found the official 'Previews' magazine for all things comic-related. Sheldon never read the comic descriptions—that'd ruin the surprise—but given that he might never have the chance to actually read them, he made an exception.

"Sheldon." He looked up to see Penny standing next to him. Apparently the ride had finished and he hadn't heard the exit gate open.

He began to walk while firing off a quick comic book order to Stuart in case things managed to work themselves out. Suddenly he stopped as he'd walked into Penny, who was facing him with a scowl.

"Phone away. No work allowed," she ordered.

"But I'm not working I'm—"

"No 'buts' Sheldon. Today's a freak occurrence. Let's just roll with it, ok?" Sheldon rolled his eyes and sighed at her expression.

"Very well." He put his phone away. "Where to next?"

"I see 'The Octopus' over there," she said as she threaded her arm through his, ignoring the shudder that passed through his body at the contact. "I remember riding that with Johnny Dickenson in grade ten. Nothing like trying to kiss when your body's being tossed and spun at the same time."

Penny suddenly found herself jerked backwards as Sheldon had stopped dead. "Sheldon, what the hell?" She looked at the physicist and saw his eyes wide with an expression of absolute joy. Following his gaze she smirked as she saw a little roller coaster whose cars were shaped to look like a train. With a little tug she started them towards the racing coaster.

"It resembles the Bethlehem Steel 0-4-0 Switcher steam engine," breathed Sheldon. "Except it wouldn't be painted in primary colors." In the three minutes it took the train to complete its circuit Penny learned more about steam engines than she wanted but Sheldon's enthusiasm was such that she couldn't bear to stop him.

When the train came to a halt and let out a gush of steam his grin nearly split his face. Penny couldn't resist and tore off five tickets and handed them to her friend.

"Go have fun," she smiled.

His eyes said all the thank you he felt as he took the tickets and gave them to the operator before selecting the car behind the engine. Sheldon clicked the bar over his lap after wiping it down with an antibacterial cloth and made sure it had locked. He was nervous but the thrill of riding the Bethlehem Steel 0-4-0 Switcher steam engine overrode any sense of doom. He laughed his gaspy laugh as the train whistle blew and the ride commenced. In order to distract himself from the climb to the top he recited the table of elements in reverse alphabetical order. Deep breathing also helped.

Penny smiled as she stood by the operator watching Sheldon scream while the train made its descent and began its trek around the tracks.

"Your boyfriend's got a thing for trains, huh?" asked the operator. He'd heard Sheldon's speech on train engines and was amazed at Penny's patience.

"He's not my boyfriend," amended Penny. "But yeah he's a regular Thomas the Tank Engine."

When the train pulled into the station she made her way to the exit gate. Sheldon was pale although he was still smiling as he came to her side.

"Thank you Penny," he said in a rush.

"You're welcome sweetie."

"You said you wanted to ride the Octopus."

Penny mentally counted her remaining tickets. "No it's ok. Let's just walk."

"Now _this_ is a lesson in futility," Sheldon tsked as he glanced at a carnival game. "Midway games are notorious for fraud. For instance the 'milk pail toss' game is virtually impossible to win because the pail sits at a slight tilt towards the back wall thus making the ball hit the rim on virtually every shot."

"Uh huh," said Penny as her eyes scoured for something to catch her fancy.

"As for picking a winning number from the 'clothesline' game you'd have a better chance winning the lottery. All of the numbers are reversible so whatever you pick is immediately altered by holding a pin upside down. For instance a '9' becomes a '6', '18' is '81', '61' is '19'—" He stopped his recitation as they come across a small clearing where two paramedics were treating a young girl who was crying by the horse rides.

"Ow. Poor thing," winced Penny. "I fell an awful lot while training for the junior rodeo. Not fun."

"Hence the reason why I've never ridden a horse of my own free will." Penny was thunderstruck.

"But you're from Texas. I thought that was ingrained."

"No, football and frying meat so it tastes like chicken are ingrained. Riding a horse is as optional as wearing a cowboy hat and as you've observed I don't wear one."

Penny grinned. "But can you shoot?"

"Close enough that I can make a raccoon crap itself."

"Wanna prove it?" she said and strode towards the water guns. Sheldon sighed.

"Penny weren't you listening? The games here are all rigged against you." Noting she hadn't altered her course he quickly caught up.

"Come on Sheldon, one game."

"It's throwing away good money as my mother would say."

"I don't care if I don't win"—here she grinned—"as long as I beat you."

Sheldon pursed his lips. "Woman, you are on."

They selected their guns and at the bell began squirting their individual targets so to make their race horses move across the board. While neither won the game overall there was a smile on Penny's face as she gave out a "Yee-ha" much to Sheldon's disgust.

"Your gun had more water pressure than mine," he pouted.

"Whatever Sheldon. The point is I won." She smiled sweetly at his scowl.

Sheldon zipped up his jacket as the night air started to get cool. Penny's upper body was fine tucked away in a hoodie but she wished she'd worn pants instead of jean shorts.

"You know, I think I'm going to play one more game," said Penny. "Something with a guaranteed win."

Curious, Sheldon followed her over to a booth surrounded on four sides by row after row of lollipops.

"So Sherlock, what are my odds?" Penny asked as she strolled around the booth.

"Incalculable. Odds are generated by comparing the unfavorable with the favorable possibilities. In this case I don't know how many suckers have been tagged as winners. Assuming the operator is trustworthy enough to have put one winner on each side your chances are one in one hundred and twenty." Penny paid her five dollars and wiggled her fingers as she waved her arm up and down the rows. Sheldon raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

"Since math isn't going to help I've got to rely on good ol' intuition." He shook his head and sighed as she selected her lollypop. It wasn't a winner. "Ah well, at least I come out a sucker ahead."

"You are what you eat," Sheldon replied with a smirk. "Bazinga."

"Yeah, yeah." Penny gave him a playful elbow.

At last they reached the Ferris wheel. Penny pulled out her tickets. "Come on," she said excitedly.

"I don't do Ferris wheels," Sheldon said firmly.

"Sheldon…" she pouted.

"I'm not stopping you from going." He looked at his watch. "Although it's about time we returned to the garage."

Penny looked longingly at the Ferris wheel and sighed. She turned to a couple who were getting into the line.

"Here," she said and gave off her remaining tickets. Putting her hands in her pockets she trudged off in the direction of the garage. Sheldon watched her go for a moment before he moved to catch up.

Once they got back Penny quickly slipped on a pair of sweat pants. She paid Mark and hopped into the car. Sheldon was relieved when she turned the ignition and the engine started. Putting the car in gear she pulled out of the lot and, much to her passenger's surprise, turned into a parking lot close to the fairgrounds.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"It's almost time for the fireworks so what the heck."

Sheldon frowned. "I'd rather go home."

Penny sighed. "Look Sheldon, July Fourth is all about good food, good friends and fireworks. I've got granola bars and bottled water and you. Just work with me on this one, ok?"

"Alright," he said after a moment.

Grabbing her rations and a blanket Penny and Sheldon made their way to the field. After settling themselves down Penny offered him a granola bar and water.

"I should let Leonard know everything's ok," she said as she pulled out her phone.

"Fireworks originate in China and date back to the tenth century. In 1240 the Arabs acquired knowledge of gunpowder and its uses from the Orient," Sheldon said. He was oblivious to the look of first shock then anger on Penny's face.

"Uh huh," said Penny in a gruff tone.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Oh nothing. Just read over a Twitter update from someone I thought was having a good time," she said coldly.

"You mean Leonard?" said Sheldon as the fireworks began. "I swear that man can't do anything without me."

Penny opened her mouth to reply but decided it wasn't worth it.

...

"Well, this day was different," Sheldon said as both he and Penny made it to their landing. "I hope you had a pleasant day."

"Actually, I did," Penny replied as she went over and unlocked the door. "Sorry it wasn't memorable for the likes of Dr. Cooper."

Sheldon was puzzled and then he remembered his Tweet. "Penny, I meant that we didn't do anything special."

"Funny. It felt special to me." Penny entered her apartment and closed the door.

Sheldon paused and then entered his own apartment. Leonard heard the door shut and came out of his bedroom.

"Glad you made it home," he said. "Sorry you missed the fireworks."

"Actually, we got to see them in Orrville after we got the car fixed. The town had a Fall Fair complete with carnival and vender's tables."

"That's awesome."

"Why is it awesome? We spent an hour at the side of the road, another thirty minutes at a garage and Penny had to pay two-hundred and seventy-five dollars—money which she probably doesn't have—for her car. How could this day be awesome?"

"Because you got to spend it with Penny. I mean, didn't you go on any rides at the carnival?"

"I went on a train ride while Penny went on the Tilt-A-Whirl and—" he thought about her disappointed face before she handed off her tickets and walked away from the Ferris Wheel—"I guess that was about it," Sheldon said, his voice tapering off.

"Better than us. No carnival there and the grounds were packed with people for the fireworks," Leonard said.

"So what you're saying is that the destination wasn't worth the effort," Sheldon said slowly.

"Sometimes it's the journey that makes it good, Sheldon. 'Night," Leonard said and went back to his room.

As long as he lived, Sheldon didn't think he'd ever understand how Penny and Leonard thought. For him, there had always been a goal: get out of Galveston, get his PHDs, get on at CalTech. The awards. The accolades. Always an end. But in this case, there might be no end. There might only be this repeated day for eternity.

 _'Funny. It felt special to me.'_

"It's the journey," Sheldon said softly to himself and then went to his room.


End file.
